Return to Thackerays

Last weekend, my wife and I had the chance to return to Thackerays along with an ex-collegue of mine and her husband. We had decided beforehand that we would go for the tasting menu and I gave them a call during the week before to ask if they would do a vegetarian tasting menu for me. I was told that it would be no problem and I spent the next few days in anticipation of what I would get.

The only table we could book was fairly early and when we arrived they were still getting the restaurant ready, so we sat in the bar with a drink while we chose which options we would have from the menu. Thackeray's have a vegetarian menu, and for the tasting menu I had one of the starters as an appetiser and the other as a starter. I then had a choice from the mains section of the menu, and would then join the others for a choice of desserts.

Very shortly, we were shown to our table, and once we were comfortable, a truffled mushroom veloute amuse bouche arrived. It was served in an espresso cup, which was lucky as it was deliciously rich and it would have been very difficult to have a lot of it.

Next came the appetiser. I had chosen to have a butternut squash risotto which was lovely and this was followed by a starter of goats cheese and beetroot parfait, which I had had on my last visit.

This was followed by a lemongrass granita which was extremely refreshing and left my pallette cleansed ready for the next course.

For the main course I had an open ravioli of mixed vegetables which had a really interesting mix of sweet and sour flavours. It was very enjoyable.

For dessert I had Chocolate, Hazelnut and Banana Torte which was very nice, and I also had a taste of the Apple Tarte Tatin which was really delicious.

We decided to have the accompanying wines that were matched to the food, and they worked very well. One surprise was a Pinot Noir that accompanied the monkfish that my wife had, but she said it worked.

The food was really good - there is nothing to match it in Tunbridge Wells - however, the service this time was slightly lacking. None of the wine glasses were removed from the table, meaning that by the end of the night we each had half a dozen of them sitting in front of each of us. There was a long wait for coffee and then a longer wait for the petit fours, which really should have arrived with the coffee. Thackeray's used to have a Michelin star, and this is something they'll have to brush up on if they are to get it back.

Apart from that, it was a truly enjoyable night, there was no pressure to leave which meant that we all had plenty of time to catch up on the latest gossip over some good food and wine.

Quilon, London

41 Buckingham Gate
London
SW1E 6AF Map

http://www.thequilonrestaurant.com/

I guess its unfair to say that if Quilon didn't have a Michelin Star I would have enjoyed the meal more, but it's true. During my meal there, I was waiting for the "special something" that would put Quilon on par with Benares (which has a star) and above the Cinnamon Club (which doesn't) but it never arrived.

If, as Fay Mashler suggested in the Evening Standard, Michelin feel that they should give their stars to Asian restaurants to stave off criticism of a French bias, it really devalues their brand. Let us hope that this is not the case.

So, ratings aside, how was the food?

Well, on the whole it was good. I would recommend the egg paratha, which I can only describe as a paratha with an extremely thin omellete inside, and the mashed aubergine part of the Two Type Aubergine dish was excellent, but some other parts of the meal were disappointing - the poppadums tasted a bit stale and one of my fellow diners was very disappointed with his Avyal.

The rasam, that we were presented with between courses was very good - we all agreed on that.

The dessert menu was fairly uninspiring, and none of us were tempted.

The service was fine, a spilt drink was efficiently dealt with, and the food arrived quickly.

We had a good time, but there just wasn't that special something I've come to expect that lifts "starred" restaurants above the normal "run-of-the-mill" restaurant.

Kwan Thai, London

The Riverfront, Hay's Galleria,

London Bridge, SE1 2HD Map

http://www.kwanthairestaurant.co.uk/

For Valentines Day, my wife and I went to Kwan Thai, a Thai restaurant that overlooks the Thames in Hays Galleria, near London Bridge. The vegetarian menu on the a la carte is quite large, however unfortunately we only had the choice of the set Valentines Day menu.

For starters I had a spicy mushroom salad that wasn't bad. It was nicely presented in four lettuce leaves, but parts of it was a bit vinegary. My wife had marinated deep fried crabs, that she said tasted "a bit like medicine" when you got to the middle.

Then we had a soup course, sweetcorn and asparagus (in February?) for me and pork and egg noodle for the missus. There's not much I can say about them, they were nothing special.

For main course I had a Thai Green Vegetable curry which was good, and my wife had a large portion of chicken breast with garlic and pepper sauce, that she said was okay. These were accompanied with a pineapple fried rice served in a pineapple skin and stir fried greens (bok choy and the like) in soy sauce. The greens were lovely, they had a really smokey flavour.

We finished off the meal with a dessert of Thai Crepes with strawberry sauce and ice cream. The crepes were really nice and we both agreed that this was the best dish of the evening.

We had a good table upstairs where we could gaze out across the river and the service was okay - a lot of the reviews I've read mention that the place has rude waiters/waitresses, but we saw nothing of this. The set menu was £30 a head plus tip (12.5% added to bill) and drinks. We'll probably go back sometime to try the a la carte.

Another Culinary Tour of Tunbridge Wells

A while ago, I reviewed a few of the restaurants and cafes in my home town of Tunbridge Wells. Since then, my wife and I have sampled many more establishments, so I thought its was time for another round up.

ID, 26 London Road Map
ID has a nice extensive menu, including vegetarian options and a veggie set menu, although some of the dishes come with oyster sauce, so you'd need to check these to see whether they are using the “Vegetarian Oyster Sauce” that you can get that is made with mushrooms. The service was good, and the food was very tasty. They have an outside patio area that may be nice during the warmer months.

Junahki, 63 St Johns Road Map
The thing that stood out for me was the service. After waiting in the bar area for a few minutes, we were shown to our table which was already set with poppadums and pickles – a nice touch. The food was tasty and there were plenty of veggie options.

Himalayan Ghurka, 31 Church Road Map
I was a little disappointed with the Himalayan Ghurka. I was expecting the kind of food that I used to get at the Ghurka Kitchen, a Nepalese restaurant in Oxted, but it was pretty much standard Indian fayre. There was plenty of it however, and the service was fine, although the waiter could give us absolutely no advice on the wine list.

Woods , 62 The Pantiles Map
We went here for breakfast one weekend. The service was good and the food, I had Eggs Florentine – poached eggs with English muffins, hollandaise sauce and spinach, was really nice.

Pleasant Sandwich Bar, 7 Mount Pleasant Road Map
This is your fairly basic no-frills greasy spoon, but if you want a cheap filling “Full English” then this is the place to go.

Coffee House, Mount Pleasant Road Map
We tried the Coffee House for breakfast one morning. It's neater and tidier than its near next-door-neighbour, the Pleasant Sandwich Bar, but I preferred the “Pleasant”.

New Diamond, 51 Grosvenor Rd Tunbridge Wells Map
This is my “local” Chinese takeaway. They do a really huge selection of veggie dishes and a great veggie set menu. The Aubergines in Black Bean Sauce is a particular favourite of mine.

McDosa, 49 Grosvenor Rd Tunbridge Wells Map
I've only had a takeaway from here once. The dosa was great, but the rest of the meal I had was nothing special.

Java Bean Café, 67-69 High St Map

It's generally a toss-up whether to go here or Carluccio's for breakfast, and the Java Bean often wins, mostly on price. The juices that they do are really refreshing and the breakfasts are tasty. The service could be better, often there seems to be a lot of staff standing around unsure what to do.

Café Divine, 5 Castle St Map
I discovered this independent coffee-shop on Delocator, a website well worth a visit if you're fed up with the Starbuck's and Costa's that are taking over our high streets. And Café Divine is worth a visit too. The service is friendly and the coffee is superb!

Tas, London

72 Borough High Street,

London SE1 1LL Map

http://www.tasrestaurant.com/

Tas is a Turkish restaurant near Borough Market. I went here a couple of years ago so its definitely time for an update.

We managed to get a table on a Friday night for eight of us, which was pretty lucky. The menu is quite large with several set meals that you can choose from. They also do a group menu, that will give you a selection of starters followed by the main of your choice.

We decided to grab a selection of starters to share around the table and then choose a main course each. The starters included Hummus, Enginar - artichokes with carrots, potatoes and beans, Patlican Slatasi - aubergine puree, Dolma - stuffed vine leaves and several salads. They were all nice, especially the Enginar and the Patlican.

The menu has quite a large vegetarian main course section (about a dozen dishes) and after quite a while, I finally decided on Baklali Enginar. This was similar to the Enginar that was part of the starter selection, but more spicy. The dish consisted of globe artichoke bases, presumably boiled, that were filled with tomatoes, potatoes and broad beans. These were all in a gorgeous sauce that had just a hint of spicyness about it.

I decided not to have a dessert -I'm sad to say that the cubed aubergine is no longer part of the dessert menu, but I did get a taste of the chocolate cake, which was very nice.

The service was fairly good, and they were very accommodating when two extra people turned up making our initial party of six, a party of eight. Pricewise, it isn't bad either, especially considering its location, just a stones throw from Borough Market and London Bridge station.

For a veggie on a night out with collegues, it was really nice to end up at a restaurant that had a really good and tasty vegetarian selection. If you're in the London Bridge area, I would definitely suggest giving Tas a try.

Gaztronomy Top Ten 2007

My wife and I love eating out. Since becoming vegetarian 15 or so years ago, my diet (believe it or not) has expanded as I found new ingredients and flavours to replace the "meat and two veg" diet that I had been brought up on.

Over the last few years the vegetarian food in restaurants has improved no end. No longer is the ubiquitous vegetable lasagne the only choice available, many restaurants are now offering exciting and tasty meat-free meals as part of their menu.

Some of the top chefs now offer amazingly imaginative and tasty food now in their restaurants and this is a list of my favourites that I visited in 2007.

1. Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
The afternoon we spent at Raymond Blanc's two Michelin Star restaurant was superb. The food and the setting were spectacular and it was wonderful to go back there to cook on one of their courses.

2. La Ginestra
I visited this organic restaurant during the course I did in Tuscany. Having previously toured the farm, it was wonderful to eat their home grown produce at their restaurant.

3. Thackerays
The best restaurant in Tunbridge Wells, no question. The food was imaginative and the service was great.

4. Boxwood Cafe
A Gordon Ramsay restaurant that has a vegetarian menu? And an impressive one at that. You'd better believe it!

5. Neal Street
Sadly, Antonio Carluccio's flagship restaurant has now closed, leaving a big hole in Covent Garden. I visited it just before it closed and had a fabulous meal there.

6. Locanda Locatelli
This is my wife's (who doesn't suffer from the same meat-free affliction that I have...) current favourite restaurant. There's not a lot of veggie stuff on the menu, but what there is, is fab. The atmosphere and service make this a cut above the rest.

7. Raj Pavillion
I think this is the best Indian restaurant in Tunbridge Wells. It has a really varied menu and the service when we went was great.

8. Terre a Terre
Brighton's no 1 veggie restaurant really shows what you can do with veggie food.

9. Carluccio's
For a chain of restaurants, Carluccio's is superb. The food and good service are consistant across all the branches I've been too and, on the odd occasion when thing haven't quite gone to plan, they have sorted it out with a "customer comes first" attitude that is all too rare these days.

10. Imli
Imli's "Indian Tapas" experience makes for an exciting and interesting meal, and the prices considering its London location, are extremely good.

Rasa W1, London

6 Dering Street

London W1S 1AD

http://www.rasarestaurants.com/

Just off Oxford Street is Rasa W1. It used to be a totally vegetarian Indian restaurant, but has now added some meat and seafood dishes to the menu. However, it is still a real haven for veggies as there is a wealth of meat-free dishes to choose from.

This was another Toptable booking, and as soon as I mentioned my name we were shown to our reserved table.

We ordered some snacks to start which consisted of a selection of pappadom type "crisps" including Achappam, a flower shaped snack made of rice flour and coconut, black sesame seeds and cumin seeds, Pappadavadai, pappadoms dipped in a light batter of rice flour, cumin and sesame seeds and fried, Banana Chips and Murukku, crunchy sticks made from roasted rice flour, black sesame seeds and cumin seeds. These were accompanied by small bowls containing garlic pickle, lemon pickle, mixed vegetable pickle, mango pickle, pickle coconut chutney and coriander chutney.

For starters we chose the Rasa Platter a selection of vegetarian starters that consisted of battered banana slices served with peanut and ginger sauce, fried potato balls served with a creamy coconut chutney, fried battered aubergine slices with a fresh tomato chutney and a spongy dumpling served with coconut chutney.

Both the snacks and the starters were really nice, especially the banana slices. We were still finishing the snacks when the starters arrived and I was worried at this point that we might be too full to enjoy the rest of the meal, but despite the batter dumplings and potatoes, it all seemed to be quite light.

For the main course I ordered Beet Cheera Pachadi which, according to the menu is traditionally only served at wedding feasts. It consists of fresh beetroot and spinach in a coconut yoghurt sauce. It was very pink and tasted great.

Also on the table were a spinach and toor dal, stir fried savoy cabbage and rasam, a lentil soup which we poured over the rice. It was really good.

On the side we also shared some rice pancake things that were ideal for mopping up the various sauces.

By the end of the night we were all pleasantly full, but not overfull. The service throughout the night from the moment we walked in, to the time we left was really friendly and very efficient.

The whole meal, including drinks and tip (which was included in the bill) came to just over thirty quid each which wasn't bad at all.

If you're in Oxford Street and get a hankering for a curry, then Rasa W1 is definitely worth a visit.

Food for Friends, Brighton

17-18 Prince Albert Street
The Lanes, Brighton BN1 1HF

http://www.foodforfriends.com/

Having been recommended the veggie roast at Food for Friends by my acupuncturist, we decided that, despite being on a New Year diet a visit to Brighton for Sunday lunch was in order.
So, at high noon, we turned up at the restaurant just as they were turning the sign from "Closed" to "Open". Food for Friends doesn't take bookings at weekends so we thought we'd get there early. As it was, there were another two parties that entered with us, which isn't bad for a vegetarian restaurant on a cold Sunday in January.

Food For Friends is often thought of as Brighton's "other" vegetarian restaurant after Terre a Terre. However, as the website points out, Food for Friends is Brighton's original vegetarian restaurant and was established in 1981. I've been past it a few times before in years past and have never been tempted by the menu as it always seemed to be part of the "nuts and lentils" side of veggie food.

Not any more, however. The menu is much more up to date, with many Asian influences apparent.

So, what of the meal?

I decided to go with the Sunday lunch special. For starters I had a Curry coconut soup. It was very pleasant, not too spicy, very much in the standard pumpkin/carrot and coriander mould. My wife decided to go for something off of the a la carte menu and chose Hot and Spicy Tom-Ka, which was a hot lemongrass infused tom-ka soup with chestnut mushrooms and shredded spring onions served with steamed jasmine rice. I had a taste and it was great! Nicely spiced without overwhelming the Asian spices.

For main course my wife decided to stay with the Asian theme and ordered a dish called flash in the pan which was shitaki and cashew nuts stir-fried with garlic, ginger and shallot, sweet potato and mixed vegetables served on nori with a crispy vermicelli nest and rice noodles. There was a lot of it and after eating about half of it she said she was now bored as the whole dish tasted the same. I had a taste, and it was nice but I can imagine that without any variation in flavours it would become quite boring to eat after a while.


I decided to have the roast. I had a choice of a Mushroom and Cashewnut roast or Butternut squash spinach Brazil nut and mixed mushroom strudel. Both were served with roast potatoes, glazed parsnips, red cabbage, swede and carrot mash, broccoli, yorkshire pudding red wine and date gravy.

I decided on the strudel. Again, there was plenty of it. And very tasty it was too. The red cabbage was especially nice - it had a sort of Chinese five-spice flavour to it. The mash was really smooth and the strudel was very nice indeed and had a nice texture, with pumpkin seeds giving a nice crunch to it now and again. The gravy was quite sweet, but very nice and theroast potatoes mopped it all up nicely.

By now, we were both too full for dessert. The bill came to forty-four quid for the two of us, including drinks (a couple of non alcoholic cocktails and a coke) and tip. The service was good, the only complaint I had was the screaming kids with the diners next to us. We will be going back sometime to try other dishes on the menu, possibly in the evening when the kids should be in bed...

Boxwood Cafe, London

The Berkeley
Wilton Place
Knightsbridge
LONDON SW1X 7RL

http://www.gordonramsay.com/boxwoodcafe/

My nephew is a bit of a Gordon Ramsay fan, so I decided that I would take him to the Boxwood Cafe for his sixteenth birthday. We made our way to Hyde Park Corner and thence to the Berkley Hotel, home of the Boxwood Café. This was my nephew's first visit to London and he was quite overwhelmed by the crowds, the tube and general noise of the big smoke. He's also not that adventurous with food (although better than he used to be) which is why I chose Boxwood as the least imtimidating of the Ramsay stable to introduce him to fine cuisine.

After our coats were taken we were shown downstairs to our table, walking past Stuart Gillies who was sat in the mezzanine area chatting to a couple of punters. Downstairs, the restaurant "proper" has quite a relaxed and, although I can't say informal - it's certainly not formal or stuffy, atmosphere.

We were given three menus each (3 course set menu for £25 a head, Taster (of which they do a veggie version too) at £55 per head and the a la carte) We decided to go a la carte.

For starters I chose a beetroot, pear and feta cheese salad. Very nice indeed. There were a couple of different kinds of beet and tucked in amongst the various layers were some slithers of shallott that gave the dish some nice pockets of different flavours. My nephew had a pea and leek tart of which I tried a small piece and have to say it was extremely nice - very light and creamy. He loved it.

For main course I had Ravioli of Italian winter squash with caramelized hazelnuts, parmesan, goat’s curd and soft herbs, and my nephew had Roasted loin of suckling pig with garlic roasted potatoes and grain mustard sauce.

The ravioli was delicate and perfectly cooked. The sauce was very similar to my saffron sauce (although a bit more watery…) and the pumpkin was sweet without being too sweet.

My nephew proclaimed his pork to be superb and he ate every bit, except for a small strip of crackling. As is my wont these days, I asked the sommellier to match a glass of wine to each meal. My nephew had a claret and I had an oaked chardonnay. The chardonnay went very well with the pasta, and my nephew said that the dry fruitiness of the claret cut nicely through the fattiness of the pork… (or was that the sommellier?) Anyway, he drank it all.


And so, to dessert. I had mentioned the reason for the visit when confirming the booking, and we were both delighted when his dessert (a chocolate fondue with marshmallows, biscotti and fruit) turned up with a candle in one of the marshmallows and "Happy Birthday" written in chocolate around the plate. Apparently it tasted pretty good too, as another empty plate would testify.

Myself, I plumped for banana sticky toffee pudding, which was quite simply the best sticky toffee pudding I've had. A coffee and bill later (£110 including tip) we left full and very happy.

I'm keen to try the veggie taster menu, so I'll be back there sometime in the New Year to give it a try.

Munich/Salzburg

Last weekend my wife and I made our annual trip to the German Christmas markets. This year we also took a trip to Salzburg in Austria to the markets there.

Munich has a vegetarian restaurant called Prinz Myshkin, which I've visited a few times before. This time however, the service was very slow - to the point that we decided not to have dessert despite the fact that there was a dish consisting of three different creme brulees! Having taken a hour and a half to serve us a starter and main, we decided that we just didn't have enough time to waste waiting for dessert.

The food that we did have was good, but it was disappoining to see that the menu has hardly changed in the three years that we've been visiting Munich.

We also went to Salzburg in Austria for a day where we discovered a host of different cuisines. As well as the normal restaurants offering various types of sausages and other meats, there were Indian, Chinese and Italian restaurants. And all within a stone's throw of the cathedral in the old part of the city. We chose an Italian called Trattoria Da Pippo. We got there at just the right time as it began to fill up just as we were seated. We started with a really good cream of tomato soup, and the had pizzas which were very good. The service was good and the prices not bad either. If you're in Salzburg, you could do worse than visit Da Pippo.

Terre a Terre, Brighton (revisited)

71 East Street,

Brighton,

East Sussex BN1 1HQ

http://www.terreaterre.co.uk/

I last went to Terre a Terre in June 2006. This year, a friend and I made the trip down to Brighton on a very windy night. It was my friends first visit and I was hoping that it would be as good as my last trip.

From the front, Terre a Terre is fairly unassuming. However, once inside it opens up to reveal quite a sizeable restaurant with polished wooden floors and wooden tables. Upon arrival, we were given the choice of sitting at the large open area towards the rear of the restaurant which is quite noisy or one of the four tables near the front, where it was quieter. We opted for the latter and duly took our seats and were presented with the menu.

Choosing starters was easy as Terre a Terre offer a "tapas" of starters that includes most of the starters on the menu and more. Mains were more difficult as we wanted all of them… So, we ordered some wasabi cashews as an appetiser, drinks and the starters hoping that by the time the waiter had returned with the drinks and nuts we would have decided. And, as luck would have it, we had. So, we ordered dishes called "Fundamentally Fungus" and "Poke Mole and Turtle Soup." Oh, and a side of Smoky Scrunch Chips with Bang Bang Salt.

The wasabi cashews, although quite expensive for what they are, were fab. Not too hot, but just enough to give a pleasant kick and to keep you busy until the starters arrive. I guess its one of those indulgences you just have to try.

The starters arrived on rather a large plate and the waitress explained what each of the dishes were. Now, my memory is a little fuzzy on the exact contents, but here goes. There was sushi, Mushroom cappuccino and parmesan doughnuts, Spiced puff cakes and charred aubergine, sweet potato fritters, tandoori halloumi, various leaf and grain salads and foccacia bread. I'm sure there was more, but my memory fails me. It was all very nice, especially the tandoori halloumi and the sushi. It was also very filling and I was worried at one point that I may not be able to fully sample the rest of the menu.

There was a bit of a mix up when they delivered the wrong main courses. However, this was remedied quickly and politely and we both tucked into our not-insubstantial main courses.

My main was titled Fundamentally Fungus and the menu described it as "big rich mixed wild mushroom merlot regout, tarragon strands and shallots crammed into polenta crumb collars served with salsify frizz, roast barley buttered black cabbage toasted hazelnut milk and creamy mashed potatoes." And that's pretty much what it was. The mushrooms tasted very similar, if not the same, as the "mushroom cappucino" in the starter "tapas" and were served inside a polenta tube (for want of a better description) which was a very imaginative and tasty way of using polenta, one of the worlds most boring ingredients. The same mushrooms were also on the plate separately. The cabbage was lovely and the salsify "frizz" (foam) was divine. The creamy mashed potatoes were indeed creamy and extremely nice.

My friend had Poke Mole and Turtle Soup which consisted of sweet potato fritters served with a poke chipotle gazpacho, avocado mousse, lime oil and warm spice corn. The sweet potato fritters were, again, similar if not the same as the ones on the starter plate, and the gazpacho was quite spicy. The "bang bang" chips that we had to accompany the meal are a "must have" if you're ever here and come with a wickedly spiced guacamole, despite the fact that we were too full to finish all of them.

At this point, dessert looked an impossibility, but after looking at the dessert menu, we decided that we would "go for it". So, shortly afterwards "Bananas and Custard" and "Rain Vodka Cherry Chocolate Churros" were brought to the table. The bananas were caramelised and accompanied by custard, almond fried rice pudding, muscavado ice cream and a whisky and vanilla syrup. Apart from the rice pudding, which was tasty when first bitten, but then with every subsequent chew, became bland and glutinous, it was superb.

The cherries, although not to my taste, were pronounced a dessert marvel by my friend, especially when a cherry, accompanied by a piece of churro was then dipped into the chocolate and then eaten. Even I subscribe to this fact. Though I didn't like the cherries on their own, when eaten in combination with the chocolate and churro, they were very, very good.

This was then followed by a coffee (and I was delighted to find somewhere in England that serves "flat whites" - a milky coffee I came to love in Australia) and the bill which came (with tip) to a round ton.

Sure, its not cheap, but Terre a Terre has lifted itself above the usual "nuts & lentils" vegetarian restaurant. This is a restaurant that creates imaginative and tasty food that just doesn't need meat or fish.

Having been here before, I thought that this time the meals were much more "complete meals" rather than my last visit where you received a plate that seemed to consist of separate small tasters that ended up with too many ingredients and tastes on the same plate.

As a vegetarian, it is quite exciting to see a menu of this calibre where I can eat everything. However, as mentioned before, the prices mean that I am unlikely to frequent Terre a Terre that regularly, so if the tapas style starter idea was extended to a tasting menu where one could sample examples of many of the courses, I would be an eternally happy bunny.

I also think that a slight redesign of the restaurant would make for a slightly better dining experience. Although where we were sat was fairly quiet, being quite close to the door we did get disturbed by diners that were coming in later in the evening and standing around waiting for tables. By using this area as a waiting area on busy nights, serving drinks while the tables are made up etc the dining experience could easlily be improved, and quite possibly, more money made.

Also, the back of the restaurant, due to the open space, is quite noisy so white table cloths could help deaden the sound as well as giving it that more "high class restaurant" feel that it undoubtably deserves.

Benares, London

12a Berkeley Square House
Berkeley Square
London, W1J 6BS

http://www.benaresrestaurant.com

Benares is a Michelin starred Indian restaurant in Berkley Square, run by Atul Kotcher, who you may have seen on tv in such programs as the Great British Menu.

The restaurant itself is comfortably lit with the tables well spaced. It's not too noisy, so holding a conversation is fairly relaxed.

This was another TopTable deal, three courses for £30 from a special menu. As the menus are restricted to two or three choices (or a single one if, like me, you do not eat meat or fish) it gives you the chance to try dishes that maybe you wouldn't choose from the menu normally.

For starters my choice was a tomato and goats cheese salad. Not something I would have normally chosen, and it was really quite surprising. What arrived on the plate was pretty much a Caprese Salad, except that it had goat's cheese instead of mozzarella. On first taste it tasted like a Caprese Salad too, but then very subtle Indian flavours started to appear that were fantastic. I've never had anything like it, it was quite amazing.

For main course, I had a red rice pumpkin risotto. Once again this had a sort of Italian/Indian flavour to it. The texture was just like a risotto, but it was nicely flavoured with Indian spices. Dessert was a panna cotta, which was perfectly set and had a really delicate flavour.

To accompany the meal, we had a complimentary glass of house wine, coffee and petit fours. We also matched wines from the wine list to the meals, which had he effect of doubling our bill. But we didn't mind, the sommelier picked some good wines which matched the food perfectly.
If you don't go silly on the wines like us, then this Toptable offer is great. Even if you do, then the food is still good value. The food at Benares is lovely, the service spot on and the surroundings are very pleasant.

The Bertinet Kitchen, Bath

12 St Andrew's Terrace
Bath BA1 2QR
http://www.thebertinetkitchen.com/

I've been makng the odd loaf of bread for a few years, but never been totally satisfied with the results, except for the focaccia that I was shown how to make at La Cucina Caldesi last year which I love.

I'd read good review of Richard Bertinet's book "Dough" so I thought I'd book myself onto the three day course that he runs in Bath.

The kitchen is in the centre of Bath, a ten minute walk from the station and a five minute walk to the baths themselves.

The first day of the course is an introduction to bread making in which Richard Bertinet shows his technique for creating and working the dough. The dough he makes is quite wet and he doesn't add any more flour to it. The way he works the flour, from beneath with his fingers rather than the traditional way from the top with the heel of your palm, stretches the gluten and traps a lot of air in the dough. This allows the dough to become less sticky without the addiion of extra flour.

After the demo it is our go to make the dough, with some help from Richard and his helpers. It takes a bit of getting used to, because it starts off so sticky that you are really tempted to add more flour. However, once you get into the swing of it, the dough becomes less sticky and starts to come together.

After resting the dough for a while, Richard then showed us how to make olive and parmesan breadsticks, fougasse and various fancy rolls. He also showed us how to make hollow "puffballs" that you can fill with salad.

Then it was our turn. We made white dough and wholemeal dough with which we made some nice star shaped buns with poppy seeds, plaited buns with sesame seeds as well as more breadsticks and fougasse.

Once the bread had baked, it was time for a late lunch and to sample the bread. The bread was gorgous, nice and airy, just the kind of stuff they serve in the best restaurants.

The second day was French breads during which we got to make baguettes, olive bread and flamiche and the final day was Italian breads in which we made ciabatta, foccacia and pizza dough.

It was quite hard work, as we were making several different doughs on each day and in different amounts. However, Richard is a really nice guy and all the days were great fun.

I came away from the courses with both of his books, "Dough" and "Crust" and various samples of the bread that we had made. Since returning from the course, I've made various loaves and rolls and even made the puffball salads for a dinner party I cooked for - and they worked!

If you are interested in making really good bread, then I'd definitely recommend the Bertinet Kitchen. Richard Bertinet lives and breathes bread and as well as making fantastic bread on this course you'll also learn a lot about the mechanics of baking and have a great time.

Demuths, Bath

2 North Parade Passage, off Abbey Green,
Bath BA1 1NX
http://www.demuths.co.uk/

Demuths in Bath has a really good reputation among vegetarians however, a recent visit by a friend of mine was quite scathing so I decided to see for myself. The place itself is on two floors and I was shown to a table downstairs. I was the only one there for quite a while, during which time I skimmed through some sample copies of the restaurant's cookbooks that they have for sale, and they looked pretty good, with some nice recipes.

The menu I was presented with wasn't overly inspiring, there were roughly half a dozen choices on both starters and mains menus, and also an appetisers menu with a similar amount of options. I forewent the appetisers and chose the Beetroot and Potato Patties from the starters and an Ethiopean Platter from the mains menu.

The starters menu was quite varied, however the mains contained a curry and the Ethiopian Platter (essentially another curry) a risotto, and a nut roast. As curries, risottos and nut roasts are quite often the "vegetarian choice" on a standard restaurant menu, I didn't think they showed the culinary possibilities that vegetarian food can attain no matter how good they might

be.

The Beetroot Patties were three in number and were quite nicely presented spread with pea puree and accomanied by a raita and a few salad leaves. They were nicely spiced and the pea puree was good, but there was little or no beetroot flavour, which was a little disappointing. If the sweet beetroot flavour had been there, this would've been a splendid little dish. However, as it was the only real clue to the presence of the beetroot was the colour of the patties.

The Ethiopean Platter consisted of two different dhals (yellow split pea and red lentil and bean), spiced spinach and potato, and bean and carrot curry served on an pancake, Each of the individual ingredients were fine in themselves, but nothing special. However, the pancake was tasteless and, when eaten in combination with any of the other parts of the dish, somehow had the power to render them equally tasteless which was a touch weird.

For dessert I had Red Wine Poached Pears served with Blackberries and a Honey Labne. Again the presentation was very well done and it tasted really nice. The dish was sprinkled with honeycomb and it complemented the pears really well.

The service was quick and efficient, but not particularly personal. The prices seem to me to be quite high - £6 for a starter and £14 for a main course is a bit steep for this kind of fayre. My three course meal with a coke and a water came to over £35, which is very high.

Would I go back? Probably not. The food was okay, but nothing special, and it was expensive. It is nice to be able to be given a menu in a restaurant where I can eat everything on it, however I'd much rather have a smaller choice of really imaginative and tasty food than a dozen "so-so" items. Plus there was another restaurat next door that had quite a few tasty looking options on the menu a lo cheaper.

I have had some fabulous meals in vegetarian restaurants, Terre a Terre and Il Margutta in Rome, for example, but the majority of the best meals I've had have been in restaurants where the non-veggie meals have been top quality too, like Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons or The Lanesborough.

I guess, in the end, it all comes down to the skill and imagination (and attitude) of the chefs no matter what kind of restaurant they are in.

The Gate, Hammersmith

51 Queen Caroline St

London, W6 9QL

http://www.thegate.tv/

Tucked away behind the Hammersmith Apollo (or Odeon as it use to be called) is the Gate vegetarian restaurant. It's a fair sized place, with a handful of tables outside and the rest lining the walls of a large, wooden floored hall on the first floor of a converted church. At first glance this strikes you more like a canteen rather than a restaurant, but the soft lighting and decoration (mostly large pictures of mushrooms) make it feel smaller. However, the tables are fairly close, so it's probably not the best place for intimate conversation.

So, what of the food. The menu isn't huge, with a selection of about half a dozen or so dishes in each section of the menu. However, to a vegetarian used to scouring menus to find the single dish they can eat, this is heaven! The only problem is, with such delights on the starter menu as butternut squash tart, fig and goats cheese galette and stuffed baby artichokes, what does one choose?

Luckily the Gate have solved this for you and offer a Mezze platter of all the starters and it is wonderful. The enormous plate arrived and consisted of:

Butternut Squash tart - Small cubes of tender butternut squash baked in a mixture of crème fraiche and gubbeen cheese.
Sweetcorn Fritters with spring onions, coriander and lime leaves, served with a sweet chilli dipping sauce.
Thai Salad - Green mango, paw paw, mouli, beansprouts, baby corn, mange-tout, coriander, mint with a thai dressing and peanuts.
Fig and Goats Cheese with caramelised onion on a puff pastry galette.
Sweet potato and pomegranite salad with tahini and saffron dressing.
Carciofini - baby artichokes stuffed with dolcelatte and wild mushroom fried in crispy beer batter.

It was all really nice, but special mention must go to the figs, artichokes and the Thai salad, all of which were outstanding.

So, onto the main courses. My Denis Cotter cookery book is based on recipes used for the Café Paradiso restaurant in Cork. One of my faves is cous-cous encrusted aubergine filled with a cream cheese and chilli mix. So imagine my surprise to find it on the menu of the Gate.

My wife decided that she would try it and compare it to the one I make. She said that it tasted different to mine, not better or worse which was very diplomatic and guaranteed me handing her train ticket back for the journey home. I tried it and she was right. And it was really nice too. The dish consisted of two slices of aubergine sandwiched around a spicy cream cheese and coriander filling which was then coated with spicy cous-cous and fried.

I chose a rotolo, which is roasted red pepper, grilled courgette and asparagus, smoked mozzarella rolled in thyme infused potato. It was like a very large sushi roll or roulade and tasted quite nice, but not as good as the aubergine.

There was a daily pasta dish on the menu which I tend to feel was a bit of a cop out, as it seemed to be a fairly standard dish of penne with sundried tomatoes. There was also a lasagne on the menu which, although it was presented really nicely, seems fairly unadventurous for what is generally mooted as London's top vegetarian restaurant.

And so to dessert. Despite the rhubarb, pear and ginger crumble, the pressed lavender and chocolate cake and the quince and polenta cake, the rules said that I must have the espresso crème brulee. Which I did.

It came with the others on the dessert mezze plate! So I got to try them all. The brulee was about a seven and a half as the custard could've been a bit firmer. The rest of the desserts were okay, but nothing special. The crumble was a bit disappointing, mainly due to the lack of any discernable crumble.

Would I go back? Maybe. I'd certainly go there for the starter mezze plate. The service was nothing more than you would expect down your local café, it was okay (the food arrived quickly) but could be a lot better.

The food at The Gate is definitely a cut above the veggie food available at most "normal" restaurants, however it could do with just a tiny bit more imagination and flair to show how good veggie food can really be.

Raymond Blanc Cookery School

Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons

Church Road,

Great Milton, Oxford OX44 7PD

http://www.manoir.com/

A little while back, I reviewed a meal at Le Manoir, the restaurant owned and run by Raymond Blanc. Shortly after returning I discovered that they had a cookery school and ran a couple of courses that were (more or less) suitable for vegetarians.

One of the courses, Garden to Plate advertises itself as "This course will use the bounty of our organic garden to create wondrous vegetarian dishes" so when the opportunity came along to join the course, I jumped at it.

The staff at Le Manoir are extremely helpful and I rang to check the suitability of the course for non-meat eaters and was told that although the course focuses on vegetables there was one meat dish on the menu. Personally, that doesn't bother me, I would just not cook or eat it, but I know that some vegetarians would not like that. However, the chance to send the day being taught by a chef at a two Michelin star restaurant was more important to me than the fact that I would not be able to eat one of the dishes. Several days before the course, an overview of the menu arrived in the post, allowing me to peruse through the various ingredients and techniques we would cover.

Eventually, the day arrived and I made the trip to Le Manoir. After coffee, the others on the course and myself (there were seven of us in total) were shown around the cookery school kitchen which is next to one of Le Manoir's main kitchens.

We were handed out chef's jackets (which we got to keep - how cool is that?) and our tutor for the day, Vladimir Niza introduced himself. He is a nutritionist and food technology expert, which meant that not only could he cook good food, he could also tell you exactly what was happening while it cooked which added an extra dimension to the course.

And so to the cooking. The course was a mixture of practicals and demos and we cooked lemon and rhubarb tart, tomato and mozzarella tart, grilled goats cheese and vegetable salad (the meat-eaters did squid instead of the cheese) , mushroom crepes, plum crumble, artichokes and various other dishes. We also got to wander around the gardens at lunchtime, with instructions to feel free to taste any of the vegetables or herbs should we want to.

After lunch it was back in the kitchen to finish up and learn the secrets of Le Manoir's fruit crumble...

One of the things I find really encouraging about Le Manoir is their attitude to their ingredients. They are currently building a dossier that contains information about all their ingredients. For example, for the meat they use the dossier conatins information about where they come from, how they are fed, where they are slaughtered and general information about welfare conditions on the farm and their organic status. Similar information is held about the vegetables and other ingredients that are used. Vladimir informed us that Raymond Blanc's vision is to have every ingredient used by the restaurant sourced from within 50 miles by 2010. I think this is a fantastic idea.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, the food was great and I learnt a fair bit. I'd love to go back and do another course sometime, but I'm going to have to start saving for it as they aren't cheap. Still, it'll be nice to be able to wear my new chef's jacket at my next dinner party.

Thackeray's, Tunbridge Wells

85 London Rd

Tunbridge Wells, TN1 1EA

http://www.thackerays-restaurant.co.uk/

Thackeray's had a Michelin star until about two years ago and if our excursion there on Saturday night is anything to go by, they should get it back pretty pronto.

The restaurant is about a five minute walk from our front door and is in a cottage overlooking Mount Ephraim and the Common in Tunbridge Wells. It has the distinction of having been stayed in by the author of Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray, hence the name.

The restaurant has a couple of downstairs rooms, nicely laid out (although a couple of tables are close enough that the waiters need to be quite slim to pass between them) and pleasantly lit. There is also a small bar tucked away in the corner. Upstairs, there are a couple of private dining rooms and another bar.

We were seated and we sipped a couple of drinks while perusing the menu. I had the luxury of my own vegetarian menu, which had a choice of two starters and two mains on it. I'm in two minds about separate vegetarian menus as I always feel as though a meat free dish should just fit nicely into a standard menu. It works in Italy, so why not everywhere else?

So, we ordered our food and very shortly we were presented with a choice of bread (black pepper, red pepper and olive) and then an espresso cup containing an amuse bouche of watermelon and ginger soup with a swirl of crème fraiche arrived. It was amazing. I'm not usually one for cold soups, but this was really light and refreshing.

For my starter I had a goats’ cheese and beetroot parfait. Now, goats’ cheese seems to be de rigour as a veggie option, so I wasn't expecting much but what arrived was quite different. In the centre of the plate was a small tower of alternating layers of goats’ cheese and thin beetroot slices. Atop this was a very tiny salad and the whole thing was surrounded by dots of a sauce topped by a tiny piece of walnut. The presentation was immaculate. The taste? It was pretty amazing. The cheese and beetroot were a perfect match.

My wife had chosen scallops and her plate arrived with four of them, each on top of a different puree, potato and mustard, spinach cauliflower and creamed corn. Again, the presentation was immaculate and her opinion upon tasting it was that it was “stunning”.

Thackery's have quite a lot of wines by the glass on their Wine List, so we asked the sommelier to recommend a wine from the list for each course. For the starters my wife had a Chablis and I had a Riesling. Both worked very well with the food.

For the main course, my wife ordered lamb. Perfectly cooked (she said) and accompanied by roast potato (just the one – perfectly cuboid...) a crispy aubergine skin topped with an aubergine puree, and caramelised onions with olives. Once again, the presentation was very picturesque.

My veggie option was gnocchi with wild mushrooms, a parmesan crisp and globe artichokes. It was presented very imaginatively. The gnocchi and mushrooms were bound together with a sauce in a sort of tower upon which was the parmesan crisp. On top of this was a couple of sections of quartered globe artichokes. Elsewhere on the plate was a puree. The gnocchi was great. However, as much as I love artichokes, and tasty as they were, they were out of place with this dish.

Wine wise, I had a Rioja and my wife had a Pinot Noir. Again, both matched the main courses very well.

Before the dessert, a small dish arrived for each of us containing a small banana and ginger roulade and very nice it was too.

And so to dessert. They all sounded very nice, so what to choose? Luckily, Thackery's do what they call a “Sharing Plate” which contains a selection of all the desserts. So, between us we sampled Trio of Chocolate Cannelloni, Raspberry Soufflé with Raspberry Jus, Apple Tart Tatin and Mango and Mascarpone Terrine. All very tasty and all accompanied by an extremely nice Californian black muscat.

Once we had finished the meal, we retired with coffee and Balvenie Doublewood (myself) and Tawny Port (my wife) to the upstairs bar, where we then proceeded to demolish a plate of petit fours.

We both agreed that we'd had a great evening and that we would return. The bill for the two of us came to £175 which included the tip that they had added on for us.

However, there was one more pleasant surprise to come.

As I handed over the bill and credit card, the waitress asked if we had enjoyed the evening.

“Excellent,” I replied, “and if your chef ever has a moment of madness and decides to do a vegetarian tasting menu, I'll give you my number.”

“No problem,” she replies. “Give us a ring a few days before your next visit and he'll sort one out for you.”

“I'm not a veggie,” says my wife. “Would I be able to have the normal tasting menu if my husband has the vegetarian one?”

“Of course,” replies the waitress.

We'll be back.

Cinnamon Club, London

The Old Westminster Library,
Great Smith Street,
London SW1P 3BU

A couple of weeks back, I joined Toptable and was thrilled to discover that the Cinnamon Club was offering three courses and a free Cinnamon Bellini for £22.

I booked a table for a weekday evening to give it a go. The three courses were from a set menu and I added a message to the booking to check that the menu contained a vegetarian option. About half an hour after booking the restaurant phoned to tell me that there was indeed a veggie option for both starters and main course which goes to show that the Toptable booking system really works well.

So it was that I turned up on a very rainy weeknight to sample their fayre.

Despite it being a very imposing building, I walked past the restaurant first of all, as there is no huge sign proclaiming the name of the place, just a couple of very inauspicious brass plaques.

Hower, once inside, the restaurant is very well laid out in a large room, with a balcony around with bookshelves etc, keeping some of the majesty and atmosphere of the old library.

We were presented with the menus and after choosing, an amuse bouche arrived at the table. It was a very tasty little spicy dumpling.

My starter was crispy rice cakes served with a spicy sauce. I had expected something more like the earlier dumpling, but these were indeed very crispy and very nice.

The main course was rice pancakes served with mint chutney, dhal and vegetable curry. Both this and the other courses were very well presented, reminding you that this isn't your run-of-the-mill Indian restaurant. The pancakes and accompaniments were really nice, as was, apparently my friend's Barramundi and we ordered some bread to accompany the dishes. Three different types of naan arrived at the table, keema, plain and one with a sweet filling. These, of course, were extra to the special offer.

For dessert I had a very nice Banana and Ginger Parfait.

So, after a coffee we waited for the bill. And waited. We kept trying to catch the eye of the waiters as they passed without success. Eventually, we did manage to get the bill and paid. Apart from this minor quibble, it was an excellent night out and well worth the money. I shall definitely be keeping a close eye on the Toptable offers from now on.

Signor Franco, Tunbridge Wells

5a High Street
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 1UL

http://signorfrancorestaurant.com/

You can walk past the entrance to Signor Franco's quite easily without noticing it, as it is just a small entrance between two shops.

The restaurant itself is up a flight of stairs flanked either side by autographed photos of many famous stars who, one assumes may have dined here (or at least et the owner) over the years. At the top of the stairs, the restaurant opens up into a very neat, airy space with white-clothed tables . Part of the restaurant is situated in a large "conservatory" area that overlooks the high street.

The menu is fairly standard Italian fare, which is just fine by me.

I started with Carciofi Alla Nerone described as "Warm Roman artichokes topped with marinated sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, fine herbs and served on a bed of rocket lettuce." The presentation was really good, the way that the petals on the artichokes had been trimmed made it look like a flower arangement. It tasted very nice too.

For the main course I chose Fagotti A Funghi Porcini (Fresh pasta filled with wild mushrooms and parmesan cheese, sauté in a cream wild mushrooms and parmesan cheese sauce.) It was quite nice. The only downside was that the porcini mushrooms were slightly bitter, and I'm not sure whether they were fresh or rehydrated ones. The sauce and the pasta filling were lovely though.

For dessert I had a pancake filled with custard and topped with an amaretto sauce. It was gorgeous.

The service throughout was pretty good, although we did seem to have quite a few different waiters throughout the evening. We're planning to go back some time and, when we do, we're going to make sure we get a table in the "conservatory" area.

Royal Tunbridge Wells

We moved to Tunbridge Wells a couple of months ago, and it's great to be able to walk to so many good eateries.

Of course there is my favourite Carluccio's which I have been to many times. and never been disappointed by the food or the service. We are now gradually working our way through the various other restaurants in the town. The Raj Pavillion is reviewed in an earlier post, but since then we've been to other local restaurants and cafes, so I thought I give you a quick run down with a brief impression of each.

Firebellys Italian Pizzeria, 42 Mt Ephraim

The blurb says that only fresh ingredients are used and that no artificial colour, preservatives, SG or GM foods aer used. We popped in one evening for a pizza and it was really nice. The service was good, and really friendly.

Relish, 28 Camden Road

We popped in here one morning for breakfast. The restaurant itself has a sort of rustic feel to it with its wooden tables and floor. There is a small delicattesen sectio where you can buy various cheeses, vegetables and salads. The brekky menu was pretty good, and when the food arrived it was well cooked and there was plenty of it. On a subsequent visit however, the place seems to have headed downhill rapidly. The service was very slow and things were forgotten. They were advertising for a new chef. Hopefully they'll get things sorted out sharpish, as this could be a really good place if run properly.

Masala, 51 The Pantiles

The outside of the restarant looks quite imposing (despite the current scaffolding) and the Pantiles area of Tunbridge Wells is a lovely area. However, unfortunately the food wasn't that exciting and certainly not up to the standard of the Raj Pavillion.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen, 41 Mount Pleasant Road

There are a few veggie options on the menu, which is nice to see and I chose the Summer Veggie Stack. What arrived was a teetering tower of roast vegetables that was impossible to eat "burger style" and had to be separated and eaten with a knife and fork. However, although it basically ended up as a plate of roasted veg, it tasted okay.

Wagamama, 54-58 Mount Pleasant Road

If you've been to a Wagamama, you'll know what to expect. If not, then it's definitely worth a visit. The food is cooked fresh and arrives at your table when it's ready. This means that people in your party get served at different times, side dishes arrive before mains etc. However, once you realise this (and the waiting staff do tell you when you order) it all works just fine. And, most important of all the food tastes great.

We've plenty more restaurants to visit and I'll be posting reviews on here as we try them.